Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Use this space to discuss books you're reading or that might fit the eleventh Read Harder task.

Some posts that may help:

http://bookriot.com/2016/04/28/around...

http://bookriot.com/2016/07/26/100-my...

http://bookriot.com/2015/09/20/sites-...

You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
http://obeattie.github.io/gmaps-radius

SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
ht..."

Oh, this is awesome. Thank you!

SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
ht..."

Thanks, that is really helpful

SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
ht..."

This is awesome, thanks.

SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
ht..."

Great resource for this task! Thanks!!

SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
ht..."

Thanks! That's super helpful.

I used this page to find out places 5000 miles from my city

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldcloc...

Barbara wrote: "SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed t..."

I must be doing something wrong because it won't allow me to draw the radius...I just went for a country on the opposite side of the world and used a distance calculator.

May I suggest "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah? It's about the Daily Show host's childhood in South Africa.

Born a Crime is on my TBR list! Thanks for the reminder!

I was thinking of reading The Worst Journey in the World which is an account of a terrible expedition to Antarctica. Can't get much farther than that!

(and bonus: it could stand in for a (thoroughly unpleasant ) travel memoir and a book written between 1900 and 1950.

Thanks for the link, this one is easy for me as any in US counts, close to here will be harder. I didn't realize I was that far from home.

I am thinking of Homegoing but I don't know the specific setting. Can you help?

I'll read The Remains of the Day for this challenge. I actually would read at least 4 books next year that they are set in London and all of them could count for this challenge.

Laura wrote: "I am thinking of Homegoing but I don't know the specific setting. Can you help?"

"One thread of Homegoing follows Effia’s descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization.

The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day"

Laura wrote: "I am thinking of Homegoing but I don't know the specific setting. Can you help?"

It travels around but the main characters are from Ghana.

Which brings my question to light, does it still count if the setting changes and the characters find themselves within 5,000 miles of your location (or outside of 100 miles for the other challenge)?

I plan to read Homegoing for #24, and will be reading Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood for this challenge.

SibylM wrote: "You can use this interactive map to draw a radius around any location -- I just drew a 5000 mile radius around my home town to see the areas outside of the radius that I am allowed to pick from.
ht..."

Thank you so much for this!

I'm thinking either The Martian or Sons of Heaven.

Anyone considering Born a Crime, I highly recommend it on audio - I'm listening to it now and could not possibly enjoy it more. No need to know anything about Trevor Noah beforehand, just turn it on and enjoy his telling of hilarious episodes from his life and the stark truths of life in South Africa under and after apartheid. Excellent read/listen!!

I second that opinion. His narration really adds to the book.

I'm going to read 'Homegoing' by Yaa Gyaasi. Technically it only 4973 miles from my Hometown but I will count it anyway. It is roundabout 5000 miles.

Shawn wrote: "I'm thinking either The Martian or Sons of Heaven."

I love the suggestion for The Martian. That's a really clever fit for this challenge!

I'm going with The Three-Body Problem.

I am between
1) Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
2) In Order to Live - Yeonmi Park

Great timing for this challenge - I am a huge Banana Yoshimoto fan and just discovered she has a new one out in the US - Moshi moshi. Japan is certainly >5000 miles from my home in Boston, so I'll be anxiously awaiting January to start this one.

I'm also considering Trevor Noah's Born a Crime for this, but also want to read Uzodinma Iweala's Beasts of No Nation before watching the movie. Another contender I thought of today is Touching My Father's Soul: A Sherpa's Journey to the Top of Everest by Jamling Tenzing Norgay. Norgay was on the mountain at the same time as the disastrous expedition in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster and is the son of the Sherpa who helped Sir Edmund Hillary ascend Everest. After reading Into Thin Air I really wanted to know more about the native people who seem to do a lot of the work on these climbs but receive little of the glory. Bonus - it could do double duty as a book about sports.

I think I'm going to go with 1Q84 or Lagoon for this one--there are so many good options!

Thinking about A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. It is set, in part, in Japan, over 6500 miles from Austin, TX although the other main character is in BC, Canada, only 2000 miles from here.

Do you think it counts?

Patty wrote: "May I suggest "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah? It's about the Daily Show host's childhood in South Africa."

I was just coming here to post about this! It's 8,500mi outside of DC, and has been on my TBR list forever. I love him!

Shawn wrote: "I'm thinking either The Martian or Sons of Heaven."

The Martian! What a great idea!

I think this is a great excuse for me to finally tackle "Midnight's Children."

I used this interactive site to draw a radius: https://www.freemaptools.com/radius-a...

There are so many possible choices here, but I will probably go with The Year of Living Dangerously, by Christopher J. Koch.

my husband got me The Vegetarian by Han Kang for Christmas "as a warning about what happens to vegetarians", so that's this challenge taken care of.

Read the Rosie Project! The setting is in Australia, although they did visit NYC on their honeymoon. Strangely hilarious, but characteristic of the way an Asperger's afflicted individual views the world. Smart, but tolerance and understanding needed! Loved it!

A book set in space could count, right? I really want to find a way to slot Children of Time into this challenge, and it's set in outer space. Is this pushing the boundaries of the challenge?

If anyone in Asia, Africa, or Australia is looking for a well-written non-fiction book that might fit this category, I recommend Cuba: A New History by Richard Gott.

Well-written and fascinating history.

Maddy wrote: "A book set in space could count, right? I really want to find a way to slot Children of Time into this challenge, and it's set in outer space. Is this pushing the boundaries of the challenge?"

it strikes me as squarely within the boundaries, not even close to pushing them. Bravo.

Spoiler Alert 4.5*****

I just read, "The Martian", which also falls into this task as Mars is definitely more than 5,000 miles from California. Great Sci-fi novel in which Watney, a botanist/ aerospace engineer is stranded on the planet Mars, for over 500 days. He reminded me of the old TV series, "MacGyver", as he jerry-rigs the HAB and other forgotten NASA modules, to first survive and then be rescued from the planet, by his Hermes crew. The movie, by the same title, also released this year, 2016, closely followed the novel and was very well produced and directed. I highly recommend you read the book, then see the movie!

I could do almost anything in Asia, Africa, or Australia. I have no idea what I am going to choose, but I feel like this leaves me with a lot of options.

Elizabeth wrote: "I could do almost anything in Asia, Africa, or Australia. I have no idea what I am going to choose, but I feel like this leaves me with a lot of options."

Aussie here. Recommend anything by Tim Winton, majority of his stuff is set in Australia and his prose is to die for <3

Trevor Noah's Born a Crime would have completely slipped my mind for this one, thank you to those that mentioned it. I can't wait to read it!

I am going to read Americanah, since a lot of the book takes place in Lagos, Nigeria, which is more than 5000 miles from where I am in the US. It's been on my TBR list for a long time, so I am excited for an excuse to read it!

I went with Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Excellent!

I'm planning to read 2001: A Space Odyssey for this challenge, since it takes place in Africa and then outer space!

I'm going with The Good Earth. If needed by the end of the year (though I try to avoid doubling up just to challenge myself a bit harder) this could also count towards the reading a book I've read before AND one published 1900-1950!

I live in Yangon, Myanmar so I read Lord Arthur Savile's Crime which is set in London.

Maddy wrote: "A book set in space could count, right? I really want to find a way to slot Children of Time into this challenge, and it's set in outer space. Is this pushing the boundaries of the challenge?"

Yes Maddy, this is my plan as well! Outer space certainly seems to fit the task of "5000 Miles from My Location" for all of us! I see it as a win-win ;)

So many of my favorite books fall in this category including:

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai; Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche; Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See; The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan; West with the Night by Beryl Markham; Cocaine Blues: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood

Stephanie wrote: "I'm going with The Good Earth. If needed by the end of the year (though I try to avoid doubling up just to challenge myself a bit harder) this could also count towards the reading a boo..."

I'm reading The Good Earth for my 1900-1950 book too!